When is Bins?
BBC Radio 4’s ‘Friday Night Comedy’ show over Christmas often jokes about no-one knowing when various bins are being collected during the disrupted schedule of the holidays. This gave me an idea, and a good excuse to dig back out the raspberry pi and dust off my electronics experience.
When is Bins is a rasperry pi based product for showing when your different bins are collected. Complete with 3D printed light up bin models doubling as buttons, a motion sensor, a full mobile-friendly web interface and custom designed hardware for reducing costs, it really is the epitome of unnecessary technology, and was a lot of fun to build!
Tech Stack
The product is built with a raspberry pi running a python script. This script uses bin days saved in a database to determine what bins to light up when, and whether or not they have been taken out.
A Node.js server running on the same machine provides a web interface for users to configure their bin days and schedule. In addition, using a Python script, the Node.js server can gather this information automatically from a relevant council website if given your postcode.
Key Features
The Python script was built from scratch, bringing what I’ve learned about scalable web platforms to hardware.
View the bins due on any day
Flick through upcoming days with the buttons to see which bins are due.
When is a specific bin due out?
Tap on each bin to view details about when each bin is due.
Today's bins
See all the bins due today.
A 3D printer helped to design a prototype case for the electronics.
Customisable bin modules
Each bin is actually a detachable button. Any size, colour or shape can be used to manufacture the bin model - essential for a country where every council has different rules for waste and recycling.
Customisable bin bases
The base of each bin is a detachable module. This project can therefore support up to 7 bins to suit any council area.
The raspberry pi also runs a node.js server, to allow the user to easily configure their bins without being limited by the inputs available through the hardware.
Manage Bins
Manage the name and colour of each bin.
Manage Homes
Supports multiple homes in different council areas.
Bin Schedule
View and manage the bin schedule for the current week, month, or year.
New Schedule Form
Add a new schedule right from the UI.
Replacement Bin Days
Supports replacement bin days for holiday seasons. This lets the user change the schedule as a one off, using information given by the council.
Project Status
The project is still in development. Using selenium to scrape council websites is too resource intensive for a raspberry pi, therefore I plan on hosting the Node.js site on a more powerful centralised server, and just using the raspberry pi to retrieve the information from the server directly.
More iterations of the product are also in the works, mostly to reduce the size of the hardware and improve the internal wiring.
Once complete, I intend on polishing the GitHub repository to allow anyone to print and solder their own b-indicator.
Development
The PCB
The PCB was designed from scratch using KiCAD and manufactured using a third party manufacturer.
Circuit Diagram
The circuit diagram was designed after breadboarding using KiCAD.
Soldered PCB
Each component of the PCB was hand soldered onto the board. Using pin headers rather than soldering buttons directly to the board allows for easy replacement of modules and therefore prioritises repair over replacement.
PCB Installation
The casing was designed and 3D printed, and the PCB installed using custom designed mounts to keep it secure.
Source Code
You can find the full source code on GitHub
The Python scripts can be found in the python directory.
The Node.js server can be found in the js directory.
The PCB design can be found in the schematics directory.
The remaining files are predominantly around deployment, and currently allow for easy updating of the firmware.